A radio ad for betting platform Paddy Power, heard in December 2021, failed to strike a chord with one listener and has been the latest casualty of an upheld ruling by the UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The ad featured a conversation around football at Christmas, with the following dialogue, reminiscent of a sports phone-in show on the radio, such as 606 on Radio 5 Live:

 “It's the PaddyPower football supporter's support Line and we're talking to Burnley fan Graham, what's up Graham?” Graham said, “Well it's Christmas Paddy.” Paddy replied, “You're not a Grinch are you Graham?” Graham said, “No I love all the midweek fixtures, quick turnaround between games.” Paddy said, “So why so glum?” Graham responded, “Well it's the work Christmas party, the 5-a-side drinks, school days, dinner, makes it very hard to watch all the football.”  There was then a voice over which stated “Premier League is non-stop this December so make the most of it with Paddy Power's Bet Builder offer. Get money back as a free bet if one leg of your Bet Builder lets you down. PaddyPower.” 

The ad concluded with the following terms and conditions being spoken:  

“Pre-match online bet builder bets only. Min odds one to five per leg. Min four plus legs. Max free bet £10 per day. Excludes enhanced match odds. T's & C's apply. 18+. Begambleaware.org.”

One person believed the pace and low volume in which these terms and conditions were spoken made them unintelligible and therefore challenged the ad on the grounds it was misleading.

PPB Counterparty Services Ltd t/a Paddy Power stated that their ad for their Bet Build Promotion offered users a free bet of up to £10 if one leg of an accumulator bet was unsuccessful. They believed that all relevant, significant conditions were included and that the conditions of the offer did not contradict any claims in the ad.  

Paddy Power also stated that their terms and conditions were not sped up in post-production and were presented without any background effects to ensure the full clarity of the voice-over. Following the complaint, Paddy power reviewed the ad and said that they not believe that there were any issues with its volume, which followed the standard specifications for UK radio broadcasters. They also said that the terms and conditions were read in a different voice to the rest of the ad, and that the volume had been raised to account for any dip in volume due to the change in speaker and tone. 

RadioCentre, the clearance body for commercial radio, had approved the ad on the basis that any important information or clarifications were read in a way the listener could easily hear or understand. This included the volume and speed at which they were read, as well as any background noise which may have interfered with the ad.

In deciding to uphold the complaint, the ASA considered the information given in the Bet to Build offer. The fact that the offer only applied to some online bets was material information which consumers needed in order to make an informed decision. The ASA stated that this information should have been communicated to listeners in a clear and intelligible manner.

The ASA considered the volume and pace at which the line “Get money back as a free bet if one leg of your Bet Builder lets you down. PaddyPower” were spoken. They concluded that the words had been expressed in a way that listeners would not be able to comprehend, as it was in a much lower volume to the earlier part of the ad and at a much faster pace. As a result, it was regarded as unclear and intelligible.

The ad therefore breached the rules in the BCAP code namely rule 3.1 and 3.2 (Misleading advertising) and 3.10 and 3.11 (Qualification).

Take home message

When using voice-overs in ads, advertisers must ensure that any limitations and material information which are significant are presented in a clear and intelligible manner. Otherwise, the odds of successful defending and ASA complaint may not be in your favour...


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